The system's voice rang in Xiao Fan's ear.
[You have mastered the Law of Space...]
Xiao Fan slowly opened his eyes, a flicker of surprise crossing them.
He hadn't expected that absorbing the energy of the Woeful Poison Body would fail to help him break through. Instead, he had unexpectedly gained insight into a deeper level of the Law of Space.
Space...
He silently murmured the word to himself, and concepts such as tearing space apart, spatial confinement, and Space Strangulation surfaced in his mind.
These were things only high-rank Dou Zong experts and even Dou Zun experts could understand and master.
"Phew..."
Xiao Fan couldn't help sighing. He really was peerlessly talented—he had mastered these things despite being only a low-rank Dou Zong.
He glanced back at Xiao Yi Xian, who was sleeping peacefully after he had drained her energy.
At that moment, she lay quietly on the bed. Her face, originally as fair as mutton-fat jade, was tinged with a blush, and the sunlight made her look especially warm and luminous.
Xiao Fan's lips curled into a faint smile. With a casual gesture, he tore space apart and vanished from the room in an instant.
After a ripple of spatial energy, Xiao Fan reappeared outside Wutan City.
Xiao Fan stood in an open patch of ground beyond the city. A gentle breeze brushed his face as he sensed his surroundings, and he couldn't help frowning.
"Tsk..."
Looking at the scene before him, Xiao Fan wore a look of disdain. This spatial travel was slower than his Secret of Travel.
Still, he knew this move had its own unique advantages: it was highly mobile, stealthy, and could make him look cool.
Then, he'd try spatial confinement.
Thinking this, Xiao Fan stretched out a hand and pressed down on empty space.
In an instant, the space around him seemed to be pulled and twisted by an invisible force.
The normal space seemed to be covered by an invisible membrane, firmly sealing off everything within a certain radius.
The trees around him warped under the force, their leaves rustling as if struggling in pain.
A heavy atmosphere filled the air. The insects trapped within the sealed space buzzed as they flew, yet couldn't break through the barrier.
"Not bad..."
Next, he tried Space Strangulation.
He swept both hands outward. The space that had been sealed moments earlier was instantly torn apart by a powerful force, and countless spatial rifts spread in every direction.
The rifts were like sharp blades, shredding everything around them.
Anything caught in the spatial rifts was instantly ground to pieces, crackling and popping as it broke apart.
The earth was churned up, and rocks were pulverized, as if by a small earthquake.
After trying it out, Xiao Fan decided that at his current level, this degree of mastery over the Law of Space was mostly useful as a supplement to his combat strength.
Spatial confinement could help him deal with those troublesome Dou Zun experts, while Space Strangulation could help him clear out the cannon fodder. It was safe and efficient, too, without causing too much damage to the surroundings.
Otherwise, every time he slapped something, the surrounding area ended up looking as if an excavator had been digging there for three days and three nights.
Thinking this, Xiao Fan tore space apart again and returned to the room.
Looking at Xiao Yi Xian's sweet sleeping face, Xiao Fan's lips curved into a tender smile.
He placed the handwritten copy of the Heaven Swallowing Technique beside the bed, then left the room once more.
Xiao Fan soon arrived at the Misty Cloud Sect.
At the foot of Misty Cloud Mountain, clouds and mist swirled. Sunlight spilled across the ground, forming a silvery-white glow.
The sect's buildings looked especially solemn in the night, while the trees around them swayed gently in the breeze.
Yun Yun stood in the sect master's courtyard, the moonlight outlining her graceful figure.
She wore a plain white dress, its hem fluttering gently in the breeze. Her long black hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall, and she was breathtakingly beautiful.
Xiao Fan walked up to her and handed her the Heaven Swallowing Technique.
"This is the technique I created for you. It's called the Heaven Swallowing Technique..."
He briefly explained its effects.
Yun Yun took the technique and read through it.
With her discerning eye, she could tell it was an exceptionally high-grade cultivation technique.
It was countless times more profound than the technique of her Misty Cloud Sect.
Could it be Heaven rank?
Thinking this, she raised her eyes to look at Xiao Fan again, her gaze full of gratitude.
"X-Xiao Fan, this gift is far too precious. I really don't know how to thank you."
Xiao Fan replied with a smile, "Don't mention it... There's no need for such formalities between us."
After all, the two of them had a lips-only friendship.
Yun Yun nodded gently, her eyes shining. Then she said, "This technique means a great deal to me, but I still feel I have nothing to give you in return."
Xiao Fan's lips curved slightly as he teased, "Then give me more of your smiles. Seeing you happy makes me happy, too."
Yun Yun's cheeks flushed faintly. She only pressed her lips together and said nothing more.
When she didn't respond, Xiao Fan put on a stern face. "The technique I gave you is very important. Don't you have anything to show for it?"
Yun Yun's face reddened, and her eyes darted about.
Tsk...
Xiao Fan knew it would be difficult to get her to make the first move, so he gently lifted Yun Yun's smooth chin and kissed her.
The two sank into the sweet moment, reluctant to part for a long while.
That night, Xiao Fan stood alone in the sky above the Misty Cloud Sect.
He brought his hands together, and a grand formation slowly rose, covering the entire Misty Cloud Sect.
The formation radiated powerful energy fluctuations, and the surrounding space seemed to be drawn in by its force.
The air around the formation churned and whistled. Moonlight fell upon it, reflecting dazzling rays of light.
Xiao Fan placed a puppet at the formation's core.
This puppet bore the full power of the formation. Ordinary Dou Zong experts would be unable to break through it unless dozens of them gathered together.
As for Dou Zun experts, Xiao Fan might not have known before, but now that he had mastered the power of space, he understood that even someone in the Dou Zun Realm could be held off for a while.
He believed the formation would provide enough protection for the Misty Cloud Sect, ensuring that it wouldn't be threatened by other factions in the days to come.
After completing everything, Xiao Fan turned and left. His figure gradually disappeared into the night, leaving the Misty Cloud Sect to sleep peacefully in silence.
On a dark and windy night, a gale roared across the highest peak of Misty Cloud Mountain. The trees around it rustled in the strong wind, as if whispering some secret.
Xiao Fan sat quietly atop a boulder, seeming to blend into the night.
As for why he hadn't gone to the Sect Master Hall to get close to a certain female sect master...
Well... just moments ago, he had keenly sensed the snake hidden in his sleeve stir.
"Come out..."
Xiao Fan spoke.
As soon as he finished speaking, the snake slowly slithered out of his sleeve.
It writhed on the ground, then a strange light flashed, and it transformed into a stunningly beautiful woman.
She had a long, graceful figure, wrapped tightly in a colorful dress that outlined her breathtaking curves.
An innate, bewitching air radiated from her, as if she could steal a person's soul.
Her face was even more alluring. Her phoenix eyes shone as they glanced about, and her gaze shimmered with bewitching charm. Every gesture brimmed with irresistible allure, making it impossible to look away.
Medusa had awoken just like that. Her alluring eyes fixed on Xiao Fan, her gaze tinged with confusion and complexity. Influenced by the soul of the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python, she felt an instinctive sense of closeness toward Xiao Fan.
[Closeness +1; Complexity +2]
"Oh, you're awake..."
Xiao Fan broke the silence first, a harmless smile on his face, as if he were simply greeting an old friend.
However, Medusa knew all too well that the seemingly gentle young man before her was unfathomably deep, with strength that frightened her. She recalled how, when she had been a Dou Zong, she had actually tried to oppose him. Now, that thought seemed so childish and laughable.
"Let's make a deal..."
Medusa's red lips parted, her soft, tingling voice ringing out, utterly captivating.
It seemed to carry a bewitching magic, stirring desire as it echoed through the silent night sky.
"Oh?"
Xiao Fan's lips curled into a smile as he watched her, his eyes glinting with interest.
"Let's hear it..."